GB2457787A - Castor - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a device wheel, which comprises the device wheel's body (11), to which with the aid of a swivel bearing (13) the device wheel's (10) fork (12) is bearing-mounted with a swivelling feature, and to which fork is mounted a supporting wheel (14). The device wheel (10) is equipped with a brake/locking device (20), which functions as a directional and/or stopping brake and with which the fork's (12) and the supporting wheel's (14) turning motion can be stopped and locked at the desired turning angle and, correspondingly, can be released to turn freely and/or with which the supporting wheel's (14) rotation can be braked to a standstill or can be locked not to rotate and released to rotate. In the device wheel's (10) body (11) a hole (16) is formed, which is a through hole in the vertical direction and which is located concentrically with the swivel bearing (13) and into which a shaft pin (21) is fitted not to turn and to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the hole (16). To the lower end of the shaft pin (21) a swivel-lock element/rotational brake (22/32) is connected to prevent the supporting wheel (14) from turning and/or rotating. To the upper end of the shaft pin (21) connecting and releasing elements (26) for the brake and swivel-locking are connected, with which the supporting wheel's (14) turning motion and/or rotary motion can be stopped and released.

Description

Device wheel The invention concerns a device wheel, which comprises the device wheel's body, wherein with the aid of a swivel bearing the device wheel's fork is bearing-mounted with a swivelling feature, in which fork a supporting wheel is mounted, whereby the device wheel is equipped with a brake/locking device working as a directional brake and/or a stopping brake for use to stop and lock at a desired turning angle the turning motion of the fork and the supporting wheel mounted therein and, correspondingly, to release them to turn freely, and/or for use to brake the rotation of the supporting wheel to stop or to lock it not to rotate and it can be released to rotate.

Device wheels and wheelworks are used, for example, in carriages and devices intended for moving various kinds of goods, and hospital beds and other such devices can be mentioned as an example of application. In several cases such device wheels are equipped with a brake device or other such locking device, with which the wheel and thus also the carriage can be locked to a standstill. Besides, in those cases where the device wheel is turning, the brake device while prevent-ing the wheel from rotating can at the same time also lock the wheel's turning motion. Brake devices and locking devices for device wheels have been imple-mented in different ways, and in the following is a description of some solutions known from the state of the art.

Firstly, such friction brakes are used in device wheels, which are supported on the wheel's outer surface or wearing surface or on side surfaces of a "ring" located on the wheel. Such friction brakes are mainly of a latch-type structure, which when being locked are pressed against the wheel and which are lifted when released.

One drawback in such friction brakes is that they cause wearing of the transport wheel's wearing surface. In several cases friction brakes of this kind are used not only for stopping the wheel but also for braking it, whereby wearing of the wheel's wearing surface is especially heavy. Great force is also required to use such a brake device.

Another type of brake or locking device are locks proper, which stop the rotation of wheels entirely, whereby they cannot be used in the manner described above for braking. In locking devices of this type, the locking device is generally formed by several separate parts, which are pivoted to each other in a certain way and which are usually also provided with a separate spring. Thus, the structure is quite com-plicated and expensive, and in order to use the locking device/brake device against the spring force quite great strength is also required.

Further, in device wheels such locking devices are also known, in which the locking device proper consists of a solid piece, which can be turned in the trans-port wheel's body to stop the wheel entirely in such a way that pins or other such parts in the locking device will enter a set of teeth in the wheel hub. Solutions of this kind are presented, for example, in the US-5 103530 and EP-477592 publica-tions. One drawback of these solutions is that mounting them in their place cannot be done by simple measures in a wheel otherwise already assembled, but will generally require disassembling of the wheel at least partly. The retrofitting possi-bility is also poor.

The objective of the present invention is to bring about a new type of device wheel, with which the user friendliness of the solution is improved, drawbacks associated with the state of the art are avoided, the possibilities of using and applying the solution are diversified, and with which a simple and reliably work-ing solution is provided for stopping the device wheel's rotation. To achieve this, the invention according to claim 1 is mainly characterized in that for the brake/locking device a hole is formed in the device wheel's body, which hole extends through in the vertical direction concentrically with the swivel bearing, and that the brake/locking device comprises a shaft pin, which is fitted into the hole not to turn therein and to be moved in the longitudinal direction of the hole, and to the lower end of which a swivel-lock element is connected to prevent the wheel from turning and/or a brake or stopping device to brake the supporting wheel's rotation, and to the upper end of which are connected the brake's and swivel-lock's connecting and releasing elements or equivalent actuators, whereby the supporting wheel's turning motion and/or rotary motion can be stopped and released with the aid of said connecting and releasing elements or other such actuators by moving in the vertical direction said shaft pin and its connected swivel-lock element and/or rotational brake or stopping device.

Other characteristic features of the invention are presented in the dependent claims.

The brake's and swivel lock's connecting and releasing elements located at the upper end of the shaft pin preferably comprise a brake pedal or other such lever, which is spring-loaded against the device wheel's body and attached directly to the shaft pin, and a holding and releasing lever loaded by its own spring against the body and gripping the shaft pin under the effect of friction.

The brake pedal or equivalent lever and the brake's holding and releasing lever are connected in relation to the shaft pin in a non-turning manner so that they will remain in the same angular position irrespective of the turning angle of the device wheel's fork and the turning angle of the supporting wheel.

In the brake's holding and releasing lever a through hole is preferably formed, through which a shaft pin is placed, whereby a spring while loading the holding and releasing lever is arranged to tilt said holding and releasing lever so that the hole edges bite against the shaft pin and cause a friction force preventing the shaft pin from rising and keeping the shaft pin in place, from which holding position the shaft pin can be released by pressing the brake's holding and releasing lever.

The swivel-lock element connected to the lower end of the shaft pin most properly comprises a tooth gear provided with teeth and in the device wheel's fork there is fonned another set of teeth at least in the inner surface of the fork's one arm to fit together with the swivel-lock element's set of teeth, whereby when the shaft pin is pressed into the lower position said sets of teeth are in the locking position and connected to each other to prevent the fork from turning, from which locking position the swivel-lock element can be released by pressing the holding and releasing lever and by allowing the shaft pin to rise to its upper position.

The supporting wheel's brake or other such stopping device preferably comprises a wheel arranged on one side of the supporting wheel and provided with a set of teeth, or it comprises a set of teeth fonned directly on said one side of the support-ing wheel as well as a sliding element, which can move along one arm of the wheel's fork essentially in the radial direction of the supporting wheel and which is provided with a locking pin, a locking stop or equivalent, whereby when the sliding element is moved inwards in the radial direction said locking pin, locking stop or other such part is adapted to grip the supporting wheel's set of teeth and to lock the supporting wheel so that it cannot rotate and, correspondingly, when the sliding element is moved outwards in the radial direction, the locking between the set of teeth and said locking pin, locking stop or other such part is adapted to be released.

The sliding element is suitably connected to the device wheel's swivel-lock ele- ment so that the sliding element will get guidance for its motion from the swivel-lock element's and thus the shaft pin's vertical motion.

According to another embodiment, the lower surface of the device wheel's swivel-lock element is shaped to correspond with the shape of the supporting wheel's outer periphery and it is provided with roughening, whereby the supporting wheel's braking effect will result from pressing the swivel-lock element's lower surface against the supporting wheel's outer periphery.

In one embodiment of the invention, the device wheel is equipped with a motor or actuator drive in such a way that in the upper part of the device wheel's body a motor or other such actuator is arranged to move the shaft pin in the device wheel's body in the vertical direction and to lock the supporting wheel's rotation and turning motion and correspondingly to release the locking.

The motor or other such device is suitably equipped with an electric drive or correspondingly with a pneumatic or hydraulic drive.

Several advantages are achieved with the invention in comparison with the state of the art, and of these advantages the following, among others, may be mentioned in this connection. The device wheel is equipped with a brake, which can be imple-mented as a mere directional brake or as a stopping brake or as a combination of these. In the mechanical implementation, the pedal force required by the brake lever/pedal is quite low compared with conventional solutions. Releasing the brake also requires very little force. The way of attaching the device wheel to the object of use, for example, to a hospital bed, is very simple and it is easy to vary.

Due to the structure of the device wheel and of its brake mechanism in particular, the wheel's brake lever is made to remain in the correct direction at all times and readily available irrespective of the wheel's turning angle. The device wheel's brake can be implemented not only in the form of a mechanical application but also with an electric, pneumatic or hydraulic drive. In such an implementation, the brake device can be made to become operative automatically, if it is not kept actively in a neutral position, that is, the brake device may hereby be provided with a so-called "dead man's function". Other advantages and characteristic fea-tures of the invention will emerge from the following detailed description of the invention.

In the following, the invention is described by way of example by referring to the figures in the appended drawing.

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of two alternative embodiments of the device wheel according to the invention.

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views of an embodiment of the device wheel accord-ing to the invention so that in Figure 3 the device wheel's brake device/locking device is non-operative and, correspondingly, in Figure 4 it is activated.

Figures 5 and 6 are sectional views of some alternative embodiments of the device wheel, whereby in Figure 5 the device wheel's brake device/locking device is non-operative and, correspondingly, in Figure 6 it is activated.

Figure 7 is a side view of the device wheel according to the invention equipped with a motor/actuator drive.

In Figures 1 -4 of the drawing, the device wheel is indicated generally by refer-ence number 10. As regards their appearance, the wheels shown in these figures differ only slightly from one another, but the operating principle is the same in all of them. Device wheel 10 comprises a wheel body 11, to which the device wheel's 10 fork 12 is bearing-mounted to be able to turn with the aid of a swivel bearing 13. In fork 12 a supporting wheel 14 is rotary-mounted with the aid of shaft 15.

Wheel 14 is preferably bearing-mounted on shaft 15 with ball bearings (not shown). In the way shown by the figures, the wheel's turning axis or the swivel bearing's 13 central axis and the wheel's 14 axis of rotation do not intersect, but the shaft 15 is moved to the side from the turning axis. Device wheel 10 is in-tended for attachment to the object of use, for example, to a hospital bed (not shown) directly from body 11, from the body's attachment surface 1 la from above the adapting piece's 17 shoulder 18.

Device wheel 10 is equipped with a brake/locking device, which in Figures 3 and 4 is indicated generally by reference number 20. For the brake/locking device 20 there is formed in the body 11 of device wheel 10 firstly a vertically through-extending and with the swivel bearing-mounting concentric hole 16. The brake/locking device 20 comprises a shaft pin 21, which is fitted into the hole 16 in the body, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Said figures do not show it clearly, but one should realize that the hole 16 in body 11 of the device wheel 10 and the shaft pin 21 extending through it are formed in such a way that said shaft pin 21 cannot rotate or turn in the hole 16 extending through the body. It has been possible to bring this about, for example, in such a way that said shaft pin 2! and hole 16 are formed as mutually corresponding angular forms (quadrangle or hexagon, etc.), that either the shaft pin 21 is provided with a longitudinal groove and the body hole 16 with a corresponding shoulder or the other way around (not shown) etc. To the lower end of shaft pin 21 a locking element, that is, a swivel-lock element 22 is attached fixedly to prevent rotation of the wheel, and in the examples shown in the figures it is a gear equipped with a set of teeth 23. Correspondingly, in fork 12, at least in the inside surface of one half of fork 12, another set of teeth 24 is formed, which fits together with the gear's 22 set of teeth 23. When the swivel- lock element 22 or gear is in the upper position (for example, Fig. 3), the swivel- lock element 22 is above the fork's 12 set of teeth 24, whereas in its lower posi-tion the swivel-lock element's 22 set of teeth 23 runs into the set of teeth 24 in fork 12, whereby the swivel-lock element 22 and the fork 12 will be locked to-gether and will be unmoving, thus preventing the device wheel 10 from turning.

This function is described later in greater detail.

To the upper end of the shaft pin 21 of brake device 20 is attached a brake pedal 25 or other such lever, which with the aid of a spring 30 is loaded to be in its upper position. Thus, in the unlocked state, the brake pedal 25, shaft pin 21 and the swivel-lock element 22 attached to the lower end of shaft pin 21 are in their upper position. At the upper end of the device wheel's 10 body a protection, an attaching nut 27 or other such is arranged, on whose upper surface the brake pedal's 25 spring 30 is supported. The brake/locking device 20 is made to remain in the locked state and to be released from it with the aid of the brake's holding and releasing lever 26. In the manner shown in the figures, the brake's holding and releasing lever 26 is mounted above the device wheel's 10 body ii under the brake pedal 25 and an opening 28 is formed therein, through which the shaft pin 21 is placed. The diameter of opening 28 is somewhat smaller than the shaft pin's 21 corresponding measure, but so that there is a loose fit between them. The brake's holding and releasing lever 26 is supported in an upper position with the aid of a spring 31. The holding and releasing lever 26 is operated by pressing it with the foot at the lever's free end against the force of spring 31. The opposite end of holding and releasing lever 26 is supported on the protection 27 or corre-spondingly in an inside notch or shoulder 29 formed in the attaching nut and located at a level lower than the upper surface of protection 27 or of the corre-sponding attaching nut or lower than the inside of the concerned upper surface.

Thus, when spring 31 is loading the holding and releasing lever 26 upwards in the concerned lever's 26 protection or, correspondingly, the end supported in the notch or shoulder 29 located in the attaching nut is not allowed to rise, but said lever is tilted upwards around its end supported on the shoulder 29. As mentioned above, the diameter of the opening 28 formed in the holding and releasing lever 26 is bigger than the shaft pin's 21 corresponding measure, whereby said lever 26 is allowed to tilt upwards a distance until the edges of opening 28 hit the shaft pin 21. As already emerges from the above description, the invention provides a significant advantage compared with what is previously known also in that the brake pedal 25 or other such lever and the brake's holding and releasing lever 26 will remain in the same directional position all the time irrespective of the turning angle of fork 12 and of supporting wheel 14. This is achieved, for example, by the feature that the shaft pin 21 is not allowed to turn or rotate in relation to the device wheel's body 11.

The lever's 26 holding and releasing functions are thus of the following kind.

When first pressing the brake pedal 25 downwards, the shaft pin 21 is allowed to slide through opening 28 with the edges of opening 28 dragging against the shaft pin 21. When the foot is lifted off the brake pedal 25, the brake pedal's spring 30 strives to lift the brake pedal 25 upwards. However, the spring 31 of the holding and releasing lever 26 lifts said lever 26 upwards, and because free rising of the lever is prevented, it will tilt around its end supported on shoulder 29 in such a way that the edges of opening 28 will bite more tightly against shaft pin 21, they will cause a great locking force between the edges of opening 28 and the shaft pin 21 and will prevent the brake pedal 25 and the shaft pin 21 from rising upwards.

The brake pedal 25 is hereby locked in the braking position. When it is desired to release the brake, the holding and releasing lever 26 is pressed, whereby the grip of the edges of opening 28 on the shaft pin 21 is weakened and loosened and the shaft pin 21 is allowed to rise up.

In the embodiments according to Figures 1 -4, the brake or stopping device of the supporting wheel 14 proper is implemented as follows. On one side of wheel 14 a wheel 32 provided with a set of teeth 33 is arranged. On the other hand, the set of teeth 33 may also be formed directly in the supporting wheel's 14 body or hub. In one arm of the wheel's fork 12 a groove 34 is formed, which is preferably in the radial direction of wheel 14, and in this groove 34 a sliding element 35 is fitted to slide. In the sliding element 35 there is a locking pin, locking stop 36 or other such part, which when the sliding element 35 is moved inwards in the radial direction of wheel 14 will grip into the set of teeth 33 and will lock the wheel 14 in its place and so that it cannot rotate. The locking is released by moving the sliding element in the opposite direction. Sliding element 35 gets guidance for its movement from the brake pedal's 25 movement. This guidance is brought about in such a way that in the sliding element 35 stop shoulders 37 or other such parts are formed, which are supported with a certain loose fitting on the swivel-lock ele-ment 22 on both sides in the lengthwise direction of the shaft pin 21. The motion may also be brought about alternatively with a transfer peg (not shown) or other such part located below the swivel-lock element 22 and fitted in accordance with the above description in stop shoulders 37 of its own sliding element 35. In this manner the brake pedal's 25 motion is transferred through the shaft pin 21 and the swivel-lock element 22 to the sliding element 35, so that when the brake pedal 25 is pressed down both the wheel's locking against turning 22,23,24 and the locking against rotation 32,33,35,36 are operative.

Figures 5 and 6 are sectional views of some alternative embodiments of the device wheel indicated by reference mark 1 OA, so that in Figure 5 the device wheel's IOA brake device/locking device is not operative and, correspondingly, in Figure 6 it is activated. Figures 5 and 6 differ somewhat from each other as regards the brake and release pedals, but from the viewpoint of the invention proper this difference has no decisive significance. The greatest difference in relation to the earlier embodiments is in the structure and operation of the brake/locking device.

The brake/locking device is indicated by reference mark 20A in Figures 5 and 6.

In Figures 5 and 6, too, the brake/locking device 20A comprises a shaft pin 21 A extending through a hole 16A fonned in the device wheel's 1OA body 1 IA. Rota-tion of the shaft pin 21A in the body's 1 1A hole 16A is prevented in a similar manner as was described in the foregoing. To the lower end of shaft pin 21A is also in a similar manner attached a swivel-lock element fixedly, which in Figures and 6 is indicated by reference mark 22A. The swivel-lock element 22A is further in a similar manner provided with a set of teeth 23A and there is a set of teeth 24A also in the fork 12A of the device wheel, as was already described earlier. In these respects the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6 corresponds with the foregoing description as regards its operation and structure. The most significant difference compared with the above description is that in the embodi-ment now being considered the lower surface 40A of the swivel-lock element 22A is shaped to correspond with the shape of the supporting wheel's 14A outer pe-riphery, and furthermore said lower surface 40A is provided with roughening.

When the brake pedal is pressed down, the swivel-lock element's 22A roughened lower surface 40A is pressed against the supporting wheel's 14A outer periphery, thus stopping the rotation of wheel 14A. In this embodiment, the swivel-lock element 22A thus also functions as a wheel brake without any separate mecha-nisms. Locking and releasing of the brake is brought about in the same manner as described earlier.

Figure 7 is a side view of an embodiment of the device wheel according to the invention, which is provided with a motor/actuator drive. In this embodiment, the device wheel is indicated generally by reference mark lOB, the device wheel's body is indicated by reference mark 1 lB and the fork by reference mark 12B. In this embodiment, the wheel's swivel-lock element and brake or stopping equip-ment may be implemented in the manner described in connection with the earlier embodiments. The brake pedal and the brake releasing lever are in this embodi-ment replaced by a motor drive, and the motor or other such actuator is indicated by reference mark 508 in Figure 7. Motor 50B preferably operates on electricity, but it is possible in the invention also to apply, for example, a pneumatic or hy-draulic drive. Thus, the motor 50B is used to move the shaft pin back and forth in the hole in the device wheel's lOB body 1 lB in the manner described in connec-tion with the earlier embodiments. An electric, pneumatic or hydraulic solution of this kind can be implemented as a central brake, for example, in such a way that one and the same operating switch can be used, for example, for locking and releasing all the wheels of a hospital bed. In an embodiment of this kind, the brake device can also be made to become operative automatically, if it is not kept ac-tively in a neutral position, that is, the brake device can hereby be equipped as a so-called "dead man's brake", where the brake is always on, unless it is separately turned off and kept in a neutral state.

The invention has been described above by way of example by referring to the figures in the appended drawing. However, the invention is not restricted to con-cern only the embodiment shown in the figures, but the invention can be modified in many ways within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. Claims 1. Device wheel, which comprises the device wheel's body (1 l;l IA;1 IB), to which with the aid of a swivel bearing (13;13A) the device wheel's (10;1OA;1OB) fork (12;12A;12B) is bearing-mounted with a swivelling feature, to which fork a supporting wheel (14;14A;14B) is mounted, whereby the device wheel (1O;1OA;1OB) is equipped with a brake/locking device (20;20A), which functions as a directional brake and/or a stopping brake and with which the fork's (12;12A;12B) and its bearing-mounted supporting wheel's (14;14A;14B) turning motion can be stopped and locked at a desired turning angle and, correspondingly, released to turn freely and/or with which the supporting wheel's (14;l4A;14B) rotation can be braked to a standstill or can be locked not to rotate and can be released to rotate, characterized in that for the brake/locking device (20;20A) a hole (16;16A) is formed in the device wheel's (l0;1OA;1OB) body(l1;11A;1IB), which hole is a through hole in the vertical direction and is located concentrically with the swivel bearing (13;13A), and that the brake/locking device (20;20A) comprises a shaft pin (21;21A), which is fitted into said hole (16;16A) not to turn therein and which can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the hole (16;16A) and to the lower end of which is connected a swivel-lock element (22;22A;22B), which prevents the supporting wheel (14;14A;14B) from turning, and/or a rota-tional brake or stopping device (32,33,35,36;40A) for the supporting wheel (14;14A;14B), and to the upper end connecting and releasing elements (25,26,30,3 1) or other such actuators (50B) for the brake and the swivel-locking, whereby the supporting wheel's (14;14A;14B) turning motion and/or rotary mo-tion can be stopped and released with the aid of said connecting and releasing elements (25,26,30,31) or other such actuators (50B) by moving in the vertical direction said shaft pin (21;2 IA) and the swivel-lock element (22;22A;22B) and/or rotational brake or stopping device (32,33,35,36;40A) connected thereto.
2. 2. Device wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that the brake's and swivel-locking element's connecting and releasing elements (25,26,30,31) located at the upper end of the shaft pin (21) comprise a brake pedal (25) or other such lever, which is loaded by a spring (30) against the device wheel's body (11) and attached directly to the shaft pin (21), and a holding and releasing lever (26), which is loaded against the body (11) by its own spring (31) and which grips the shaft pin (21) under the effect of friction.
3. 3. Device wheel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the brake pedal (25) or other such lever and the brake's holding and releasing lever (26) are con-nected not to rotate in relation to the shaft pin (21), so that they will remain in the same angular position irrespective of the turning angle of the device wheel's fork (12) and of the supporting wheel (14).
4. 4. Device wheel according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that in the brake's holding and releasing lever (26) a through opening (28) is formed, through which the shaft pin (21) is placed, whereby the spring (31) when loading the holding and releasing lever (26) is arranged to tilt said holding and releasing lever (26) so that the edges of the opening (28) will bite against the shaft pin (21) and bring about a locking force preventing the shaft pin (21) from rising, thus holding the shaft pin (21) in its place, from which holding position the shaft pin (21) can be released by pressing the brake's holding and releasing lever (26).
5. 5. Device wheel according to some preceding claim, characterized in that the swivel-lock element (22) connected to the lower end of the shaft pin (21) com-prises a gear provided with a set of teeth (23) and that in the device wheel's fork (12) at least in the inside surface of the fork's one arm another set of teeth (24) is formed, which fits together with the swivel-locking element's (22) set of teeth (23), whereby when the shaft pin (21) is pressed to the lower position said sets of teeth (23,24) are in the locking position and are connected to each other, thus preventing the fork (12) from turning, from which locking position the swivel-lock element (22) can be released by pressing the holding and releasing lever (26) and by allowing the shaft pin (21) to rise to its upper position.
6. 6. Device wheel according to some preceding claim, characterized in that the supporting wheel's (14) brake or other such stopping device comprises a wheel (32), which is arranged on one side of the supporting wheel (14) and which is provided with a set of teeth (33), or a set of teeth (33) is formed directly in said one side of the supporting wheel (14), and a sliding element (35), which can be moved along one arm of the wheel fork (12) essentially in the radial direction of the supporting wheel (14) and which is provided with a locking pin, locking stop (36) or other such part, whereby when the sliding element (35) is moved inwards in the radial direction said locking pin, locking stop (36) or other such part is adapted to grip into the supporting wheel's (14) set of teeth (33) and to lock the supporting wheel (14) not to rotate and, correspondingly, when the sliding element (35) is moved outwards in the radial direction, the locking between the set of teeth (33) and said locking pin, locking stop (36) or other such part is adapted to be released.
7. 7. Device wheel according to claim 6, characterized in that the sliding element (35) is connected to the device wheel's swivel-lock element (22) in such a way that the sliding element (35) gets guidance for its motion from the vertical motion of the swivel-lock element (22) and thus of the shaft pm (21).
8. 8. Device wheel according to some claim 1 -5, characterized in that the lower surface (40A) of the device wheel's swivel-lock element (22A) is shaped to corre-spond with the shape of the supporting wheel's (14A) outer periphery and it is provided with roughening, whereby the supporting wheel's (14A) braking effect is brought about by pressing the swivel-lock element's lower surface (40A) against the supporting wheel's (14A) outer periphery.
9. 9. Device wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that the device wheel (lOB) is equipped with a motor or actuator drive or other such drive in such a way that in the upper part of the device wheel's body (1 IB) a motor (SOB) or other such actuator is arranged to move the shaft pin in the device wheel's body (1 LB) in the vertical direction and to lock the supporting wheel's (14B) rotation and turning motion and, correspondingly, to release the locking.
10. 10. Device wheel according to claim 9, characterized in that the motor (SOB) or other such is provided with an electric drive or, correspondingly, with a pneumatic or hydraulic drive.